SA Wrongful Arrests by Police - What are My Rights?

[Adam flentjar 84]

I was arrested for an offence. I served time on remand, then got bail. I also served 7000 hours of curfew time from 10 till six in the morning whilst I was on those charges.

I got arrested and charged for another matter. I have a statement from the police notebook, but the person was making claims and the police changed the story. The first part is scrubbed out, but you can read it. Then the charges were also dropped, both just before trial.

I had the three kids on my own when I moved to a small town because their mother passed away. I just wanted a fresh start, but a third arrest in the same town happened again, just before Christmas. I said to the police, "investigate it because I'm sick of it". They didn't.

I even told them I had a alibies, but instead of asking my alibi, they arrested me two days before Christmas. I rang another police station and said, "can I talk to somebody about my charge?" They said the officer in charge of me just started annual leave. lol

Anyway, I got put on bail, but couldn't go to see my family, so I took my kids away to Renmark whilst there. The police called and said the charge has been dropped.

I've been having psychological problems since all of this happened. What are my rights?

 

[Sophea]

Your rights all depend on whether you committed the offences and what evidence the police had to arrest or investigate you.

 

[Gorodetsky]

Hi Adam flentjar 84,
I'm not a solicitor, OK?

Your question is very wide. "What are my rights?".

Maybe it is easier to outline the opposite..."what powers do the police have?"

Have a read of this page:
Police powers

It discusses the concept of reasonable suspicion...and you can see it isn't a quantifiable definition...

Sophea is correct, your rights depend on the evidence the police had.

However, if the police ignored a cast iron, rock solid alibi, they can't be said to have been reasonable...I think the term is "intentional ignorance" or "wilful blindness". And it's not uncommon. Hard and expensive to prove.

What can you do from here?

You could hire a solicitor to sue them (cost you $10000 minimum, with no guarantee of success)

You could move, again.

You could try a community legal centre for some cheap help ...

I usually suggest you start making formal complaints...it costs nothing....they won't actually admit any wrongdoing or apologise, or even investigate it very much. But if you complain every time they "bend the rules" eventually the paperwork begins to mount up. Don't complain to the local station, complain to the head office...someone will eventually get told, we've had too many complaints about bad policing from your station or about officer blogs.

You need to learn about what they can and can't do.

If you get a solicitor next time they charge you, it might make the police reluctant to try it again. But you need to find a solicitor who isn't afraid to give them some criticism. They don't need to be combative, but need to make it clear they are intolerant of the poor policing you are experiencing.

The actual solicitors on here seem pretty good, but solicitors generally hate "what are my rights" sort of questions, because it usually comes down to $10000 to defend the rights, and the person isn't interested.

Next time ask something like "the police notebook had notes, which had been changed, and this was withheld from the defence, how do I use that?"

To be honest, your problems sound bigger than mine was, so I don't have the experience to offer you. I made several carefully drafted complaints and eventually my problem was dealt with.

Good luck

Regards

 

[Jason Paul]

This, I assume Adam,
Is why you assumed my cousins Facebook identity, and pretended to be her (quite poorly), and after I challenged you, you sent message after message of drug fuelled rants, with threats of violence, accusations of child abuse, and anything else your meth fuelled mind could make up.
The abuse you are sending out to people on my cousins phone is part of the reason the police, and others have had enough of you.

 

[Michelle Wag]

This, I assume Adam,
Is why you assumed my cousins Facebook identity, and pretended to be her (quite poorly), and after I challenged you, you sent message after message of drug fuelled rants, with threats of violence, accusations of child abuse, and anything else your meth fuelled mind could make up.
The abuse you are sending out to people on my cousins phone is part of the reason the police, and others have had enough of you.

how do I contact you? I have a question to ask